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4 Eco School Designs

In the past, eco-friendly schools may have seemed like something of a fanciful pipe dream. However, over last decade though, as eco-friendly materials, building techniques and technology has developed and improved, there has been an significant increase in the awareness of better, greener ways to design school buildings.

Schools, like many other institutions are try to meet the demands of government environmental regulations to try and create more sustainable and eco-friendly buildings. In the following article, we will look at some of the best examples of using eco design in school buildings.

Nanyang Technical University, Singapore

Nanyang Technical University certainly has a very striking look and feel. However the most curious of eco designs in this complex is the university’s School of Art, Design and media. It has a green-covered roof and reaches up five stories with a an abundant supply of windows. As a result, the building is incredibly energy-efficient, thanks to its semi-circle swirling effect design which reduces the loss of heat.

The green tops of the building though are there for more than just aesthetics. They are real lawns that are placed there to establish sustainable ecosystems and provide insulation.

Green Mountain College, Poultney, Vermont

If you happen to visit the intriguing Green Mountain College in Vermont, you are bound to see an array of photovoltaic solar panelling on the tops of garages, tiny homes and electric-powered tractors. All of these eco-conscious design points were actually created by the ecological design students that attend the college. The college also has a biomass facility and many other great initiatives that are only possible thanks to the green fund the student body has established.

Sterling College, Craftsbury Common, Vermont

Sterling College is already an interesting school when you consider students pay for their tuition by working hard for their education, looking after harvested produced and livestock on the campus farm. They also manage the forestlands and trails too. However, one of the most impressive things about this school’s design is the fact that it divested from using fossil fuels back in 2013 and now runs 8 solar installations that produce 80% of the college’s electricity.

University Of California, Irvine

The University of California in Irvine is no stranger to eco design. For a long time now, the institution has used its campus for energy-efficiency technology experimentation. In 2017, the university implemented the first project involving power to gas hydrogen pipeline injection in America. This means that surplus energy generated by the 17 solar power installations is used to convert water into hydrogen and then this is blended with gas. The resulting combination fuel is stored so that it can be used at a later date.

These are just 4 of the many great examples of eco-friendly designed schools that are in operation nowadays. As more and more schools look set to meet governmental guidelines and regulations for carbon footprints and energy efficiency; it is expected that more will be implementing eco design features such as wind turbines and solar panels.